Red Currant Crumble Cake
A delicious combination of tangy summer red currants and buttery, crumbly streusel. This classic German Red Currant Crumble Cake is perfect for serving with a cup of strong coffee.
The most beautiful of all the summer berries has to be the red currant. Those long strands of jewel-like ruby coloured berries will always tempt me when they appear in the markets, and there is no better match for their delicate, tart flavour than a buttery, nutty crumble.
While I sometimes make the German bakery favourite Johannisbeer-Streusel Thaler, little yeast cakes topped with berries and streusel, often I want a cake to slice and serve with coffee, and what could be better than my easy Red Currant Crumble Cake.
Ingredients
This is a classic cake German cake with very simple ingredients:
- Plain or all-purpose flour: You can use any white flour to make this cake successfully. In Germany we use a softer flour called 405 which is similar to a cake flour or Italian Tipo ’00’.
- Unsalted Butter: I always recommend unsalted butter for baking, as this way you can control the amount of salt added to the final dish.
- Sugar, eggs, baking powder and vanilla: The building blocks of all great cakes.
- Ground almonds or hazelnuts: To add a lovely nutty crunch to the crumble topping.
- Red currants: The jewel-like stars of the show!
Instructions
This is such a simple cake to put together!
- First, you make the deliciously crumbly shortcake base in the food processor. All you need to do is combine the ingredients, whizz it all up and press it into the cake pan.
- Next, you scatter the berries are scattered over the base, and a quick, buttery crumble is spread over the top.
- Lastly, you can pop it in the oven and bake it to golden, buttery perfection!
The hardest part is waiting for it to cool down enough to eat!
Equipment
German recipes are almost always standardised, which means the amounts given in this recipe make a 26cm (10 in.) cake, however, it is fairly flexible so will work in a 24 cm (9.5 in) cake pan too. If you are using a much smaller or bigger cake pan you will need to scale the recipe up or down.
Storage
Red Currant Crumble Cake will keep for several days in the fridge, covered with cling film. All crumble or streusel cakes like this one freeze beautifully. To defrost, either allow to defrost overnight in the fridge, or warm up gently in the microwave.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I make this cake with other fruit?
I haven’t tried, but this sort of base is fairly standard in the German kitchen. Berries and apples should work, but you’ll need to experiment. Let me know how you get on!
I have a nut allergy, can I leave the nuts out of the crumble topping?
Of course. Simply replace the nuts with the same weight of flour.
Can I use frozen currants to bake this cake?
Yes! Frozen currants are actually great as they are super easy to remove from the stem. I like to let them defrost a little first so some of the liquid drains away.
I have a nut allergy. Can This recipe be made without nuts?
Yes! Replace the ground nuts with an equal quantity of flour instead.
Looking for more Redcurrant recipes?
It’s redcurrant season which passes by in a flash! Redcurrants make a glorious jewel-like Redcurrant Jelly which is great for beginners (and SO useful for making German Christmas cookies) . Fancy more sweet treats? How about classic German Johannisbeer-Streusel Thaler?
Red Currant Crumble Cake Recipe
Red Currant Crumble Cake
The most beautiful of all the summer berries, jewel-like red currants pair perfectly with buttery, nutty crumble in a classic Red Currant Crumble Cake.
Ingredients
for the dough:
- 250 g plain or all-purpose flour
- 125 g unsalted butter, softened
- 75 g white sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or sugar
- pinch of salt
for the crumble topping:
- 150 g plain or all-purpose flour
- 150 g white sugar
- 125 g unsalted butter, softened and cubed
- 75 g ground nuts, eg. almond, hazelnuts etc
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
for the filling:
- 400 g red currants
Instructions
- MAKE THE DOUGH: To make the dough, combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor with the blade attachment fitted and process until they clump together and form a soft dough.
- LINE THE CAKE PAN: Line a 26cm (10 in.) round springform cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides and paper with butter. Crumble the dough into the tin and use your fingers to gently press the dough evenly across the base and halfway up the side of the tin to form the edge of the cake. Place the tin in the freezer for 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the cake.
- MAKE CRUMBLE: To make the crumble, place all ingredients into a bowl and use your fingers to mix the ingredients to form a rough pebbly mixture. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4.
- PREPARE CURRANTS: Wash the red currants, remove from the stems, then set aside to dry on a plate lined with paper towel.
- ASSEMBLE CAKE: When the oven is hot, remove the cake tin and crumble from the freezer. Scatter the red currants evenly over the base of the cake and spoon the crumble over the top, making sure it reaches all of the way to the sides.
- BAKE: Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, until the crumble is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin before transferring to a serving plate. Serve with whipped cream, garnished with fresh red currants.
Notes
Imperial weights and measurements are approximate. For best results I use and recommend a digital kitchen scale like the one below.
Recommended Equipment
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Nutrition
Serving: 1 slice | Calories: 614kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 211mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 836IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?I’d love to hear how it went! Please leave a review or a star rating and let me know how it was! Use the hashtag #daysofjay on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations.
